Currently, intercostals are routinely installed under the cabin floor of an aircraft. Intercostals are used to divert forces for the floor structure, to secure floor panels, as well as to provide attachment points for payloads (e.g., seats) and/or monuments (e.g., class dividing walls). Conventional intercostals typically employ rigid attachments. However, installation of conventional intercostals is not possible in the wing area of an aircraft fuselage or other areas of an aircraft that experience large amounts of deflection. This is because installation of conventional intercostals in such areas can cause less than optimal structural load paths and/or fatigue stress issues.
In addition, it should be noted that conventional intercostals are typically attached to longitudinal beams that lie under the cabin floor and run perpendicular to the floor panels. This configuration makes the intercostals difficult to install and remove because this area is small to work in and it is, in many cases, difficult or impossible to fit the necessary tools for installation/removal without temporarily removing local systems, adjacent floor panels, and structures mounted above the floor panels. As such, there is a need for an intercostal that can be installed in the wing area of an aircraft, and which may be easily installed and removed from that location.